Monday, March 13, 2017

To celebrate Canada’s
150th birthday Books We Love Ltd is publishing twelve historical
novels, one for each of the ten provinces, one for the Yukon Territory, and one
combining the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. We Canadian authors were asked
to pick one of the provinces or territories to write about or to do the research
on for a non-Canadian author. I chose the Yukon because I have been there twice
and love the beauty and history of the territory. The following is an overview of some of the struggles that writer's have bringing their stories to life.

Struggles to bring
my story to life.

I have written in
many different genres, non-fiction, mystery, romance, and historical and in
each one I have had to make sure that my characters are multi-dimensional, my
story plot is fast paced, and my setting is exciting. Readers what to identify
with the main characters so they have to be believable and likeable. Readers
want action in the story so the plot has to move along at a good clip. And
readers want to learn about the place where the story is set, so it is
important that I know the setting itself. This is much harder in a historical
novel because that setting is no longer readily available in the way it was in
the time period I am writing about. So this is where non-fiction books,
museums, archives, and paintings or photos of that time come in handy.

In any novel it is important to make sure the
plot moves forward, the characters grow, and the setting is described at the
same pace but, for me, it isn’t necessary to write that forward movement in
sequence.

I imagine I am like most authors in that I
never write a book in the order that the reader will read it. As I am writing
the first chapter, later scenes develop in my mind and I will jot down notes on
them. When I come to a standstill in the progress of the story, I turn those
notes into the scene. That way I seldom have writer’s block. And it gives my
subconscious mind a chance to work out the next stage in my story.

Sometimes I have an idea as to the ending
of my novel but I never write it down because it is subject to change at the
whim of the characters for, although I am the writer, it is their story.

Followers

About Me

I was born in New Westminster B.C. and raised in Edmonton.I have worked as a bartender, cashier, bank teller, bookkkeeper, printing press operator, meat wrapper, gold prospector, house renovator, and nursing attendant. I have had numerous travel and historical articles published and wrote seven travel books on Alberta, B.C. and the Yukon and Alaska that were published through Lone Pine Publishing in Edmonton.
One of my favourite pasttimes is reading especially mystery novels and I have now turned my writing skills to fiction. However, I have not ventured far from my writing roots. The main character in my Travelling Detective Series is a travel writer who somehow manages to get drawn into solving mysteries while she is researching her articles for travel magazines. This way, the reader is able to take the book on holidays and solve a mystery at the same time.
Illegally Dead is the first novel of the series and The Only Shadow In The House is the second. The third Whistler's Murder came out in August 2011 as an e-book through Books We Love. It can be purchased as an e-book and a paperback through Amazon.
i live on a small acreage in the Alberni Valley on Vancouver Island.